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Weightlifter Jiang Huihua wins China's first medal at Nanjing 2014

Jing Huihua won China’s first medal of the Nanjing 2014 Youth Olympic Games on Sunday, outclassing the field in the women’s 48kg event to take the gold with relative ease.

Jiang’s best of three lifts in the snatch was 88kg and she hoisted 105kg in the clean and jerk to finish with a total of 193 kg. That is more than four times her body weight of 47.3kg.

Ri Songgum (PRK) and Rebeka Koha (LAT) each finished with a combined lift of 165kg but RI was awarded the silver medal because she weighed 1.92kg less than the bronze medallist. Body weight is the determining factor when opponents finish with the same totals.

“It is OK,” said Koha about losing out on second place because of body weight. “I did a couple of personal bests today and a medal is a really big thing.”

Jiang is number two in the world in the 48kg class and was the only top-10 competitor in the group of 11 weightlifters contesting this event. “She was hard to beat,” said Koha of Jiang.

There are two sets of lifts in weightlifting – the snatch to open the competition, followed by the clean and jerk.

Koha set the bar with her third and final lift in the snatch, putting 75kg into the air with a clean lift, but Jiang followed and hoisted 88kg, much to the delight of the crowd. Then Jiang pulling ahead in the clean and jerk, Ri and Koha settled into their own battle for silver and bronze.

Ri added five kilos to the bar to push 93kg over her head in the second lift, while Koha went to 90 from 86. RI failed to lift 95kg on her third lift, and 94kg proved too much for Koha.

Jiang, meanwhile, hardly broke sweat in hoisting 90kg with her first lift in the clean and jerk, 100 with her second and 105 with her third. The crowd was on its feet, cheering on its new hero.

“I am very excited to get the first gold medal for the Chinese delegation,” Jiang said. “I am proud of my performance but I have [a] little pity for the snatch because I failed in the second chance [85kg].”

She more than made up for it with her third attempt in the snatch, putting 88kg over her head with a clean lift. “I still have lots of things to do to improve my skill in the snatch, especially in the continuous movement,” she added.